Fluminense knock out Inter to face Al Hilal's challenge for spot in Club World Cup semi-final

Gulf Today

3 days ago

Fluminense sent Inter Milan packing from the Club World Cup on Monday with a 2-0 win in Charlotte that took the Brazilian side through to the quarter-finals.
German Cano's header from close range gave Fluminense an early lead and they then withstood an onslaught from the Italian side in the second half before substitute Hercules sealed their victory late on.
The Rio de Janeiro outfit, who qualified for the Club World Cup thanks to their Copa Libertadores triumph in 2023, become the second Brazilian side to make the last eight after Palmeiras had already sealed their quarter-final spot.
Captained by 40-year-old former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Chelsea centre-back Thiago Silva, 'Flu' will now go to Orlando for a tie on Friday against Al Hilal, who stunned Manchester City 4-3.
It is the latest victory for a Brazilian team against prestigious European opposition at the tournament in the US, after Botafogo defeated PSG and Flamengo got the better of Chelsea in the group stage.
Inter came to the US off the back of their 5-0 defeat by PSG in the UEFA Champions League final at the end of May and with a new coach in Cristian Chivu.
They did not fully convince during the group stage despite topping their section and they found themselves trailing inside three minutes before only just over 20,000 fans at the Bank of America Stadium on another hot afternoon.
A cross from the Fluminense right by Jhon Arias took a deflection off Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni and the ball then bounced awkwardly before veteran Argentine striker Cano arrived to head in through the legs of goalkeeper Yann Sommer from close range.
Ignacio thought he had made it 2-0 before the interval, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside.
Sommer then tipped a fine curling strike by Arias around the post just after the hour mark, before Inter began to turn up the pressure in an attempt to avoid exiting the competition.
Stefan de Vrij prodded wide from close range after captain Lautaro Martinez had headed down a cross, and the latter then saw a fine shot on the turn from the edge of the box come back off an upright.
Martinez had also been denied by Fluminense goalkeeper Fabio moments earlier, and confirmation that it would not be Inter's day arrived in stoppage time.
On as a substitute, Hercules pounced on a falling ball and drove into the box before firing low into the corner.
Federico Dimarco then hit the woodwork at the other end as Fluminense held out for the victory to keep South American hopes of glory at the tournament firmly alive.
Al Hilal oust City in extra time: Marcos Leonardo scored his second goal of the match in the 112th minute to give Al Hilal a 4-3 upset victory over Manchester City in Orlando, sending the Saudi Arabian side into the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup.
Malcom and Kalidou Koulibaly also scored for Al Hilal, who got 10 saves from goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Bernardo Silva, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden were the goal-scorers for Manchester City.
The decisive goal came after Sergej Milinkovic's header was stopped by Ederson for the Manchester City goalie's second and final save of the match.
The ball then hit off Leonardo to the left front of the goal line, and he knocked the ball into the open net with his right foot to give Al Hilal the lead.
Koulibaly scored on a header to give Al Hilal a 3-2 lead in the fourth minute of extra time.
Al Hilal's Ruben Neves took a corner kick, and Koulibaly leaped and flicked the ball to the left of Ederson.
Manchester City had two strong chances late in the second half of regulation time.
Off a corner kick in the 84th minute, Manuel Akanji sent a header that hit off the right goalpost. Haaland was there for a potential tap-in, but Al Hilal's Ali Lajami cleared the ball before it crossed the line.
Agencies